1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system for switching alternatives for a model in a scene so that different versions of the model can be easily presented and, more particularly, to a system that allows a user to select components of alternatives of a model, arrange them in categories and easily swap them in the scene, or to similarly swap different material assignments or positionings of models in the scene.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the world of product development there can often be different configurations for the components of a three-dimensional (3D) product. For example, an automobile can be purchased with several different style wheels or wheel covers, such a star spoke design, a four point spoke design, a solid wheel cover design, etc. A designer often needs to view a 3D model of the product with these alternate configurations. Similarly, the same model may need to be viewed with different materials applied (a “color study”) or in different positions (such as an “exploded view”). One solution is to construct different 3D scenes of the various alternatives. This requires that multiple scenes be constructed, a time consuming task, and then sequentially loaded in and out of the current view, a tedious process that can take an irritating amount of time. The user must manually implement the representation, construction, and mutual exclusion of the 3D design alternatives. And because the different alternatives are often independent, the number of scenes that need to be created can grow quickly (every arrangement of parts in every possible color). In the 2D world paint layers can be used in paint/image processing programs to construct or overlay options. In the 3D world there is a similar concept of layers, which is a way to turn the visibility of groups of objects on and off one at a time, but no explicit mechanism exists for mutually excluding other options when a particular alternative is shown, nor for managing independent switching of parts, materials, and positions.
Because of these problems, users of visualization software need a way to manage the display and content of alternate configurations of products. They need a way to quickly and independently switch between different designs or options within a design, without needing to build many copies of the same model. They also need some way of keeping track of which alternatives are being displayed.